A Neighbor's Landmark
"A Neighbor's Landmark" is a short ghost story by the British author M.R. James. It first appeared in print in the March 17, 1924 issue of the magazine The Eton Chronic. It was published again in 1925 as part of the anthology A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories. The story concerns the ghost of a woman who, as a result of her dishonesty, is cursed to haunt a wood. The ghost remains even though the wood is now no longer there. The title is a reference to two verses in the Biblical Book of Deuteronomy which both warn against secretly altering boundaries in order to steal land from other people.Deuteronomy 19:14 (King James Version): Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.Deuteronomy 27:17 (King James Version): Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen. Plot The story's main narrator is an author and a lover of books. He visits Betton Court, the country home of his friend Reginald Philippson, in order to catalog its library. On his first day at Betton Hall, the narrator comes across an 18th-century political tract. The tract's anonymous author accuses one of his opponents of ignorance by quoting an old folk song which says that the thing which walks in Betton Wood does not know why it walks or why it cries. The author is amazed to come across a reference to Betton while he is in Betton. Although he is interested in folklore, he has never heard of that song before. That afternoon, he tells Philippson about the reference to the song and asks if there is a place called Betton Wood nearby. Philippson replies that there used to be one on the top of Betton Hill but his father removed all the trees and had the area converted to farmland. He adds, however, that he does not think that the farmland was ever used and it is not used at present. Philippson goes on to say that a man known as old Mitchell might know more about the matter. He goes off to visit the old man but does not take the narrator with him, explaining that old Mitchell is, "not so likely to tell anything odd if there's a stranger by." The narrator takes a walk. He follows paths in the garden of Betton Court which lead to a stone arch with a door in it. He opens the door, leaving it ajar, and follows narrow lanes which lead gradually upwards towards a field. The narrator arrives at the field just before sunset. He stops and enjoys the view. Suddenly, he hears a sound, "like the shriek of a bat only ten times intensified." He thinks at first that the sound is coming from inside his head and is a sign that he is taking ill. When he hears the sound a second time, he is certain that it is being made by something outside his body. He is also certain that the sound is being made by a creature without emotion or intelligence. He does not want to stay and hear the sound a third time and hurriedly leaves. He does not follow the narrow lanes which took him to the field, admitting that he is afraid to do so, and follows the road back to Betton Court instead. He meets Philippson coming in the opposite direction. When the narrator tells Philippson where he has been, Philippson tells him that he has been near to where Betton Wood once stood. The narrator chooses not to tell Philippson about his strange experience at that time. After dinner, Philippson reports what old Mitchell told him. Old Mitchell's father was woodman to Philippson's father and advised him to remove the trees from Betton Wood. Old Mitchell's mother sometimes went through Betton Wood to go to a farm to fetch milk, something which she could not do until the afternoon. Although the route through the wood was the quickest way to the farm, she only went that way if she was in a hurry and was always distressed after she did so. Although she did not like to talk about what happened to her in the wood, she revealed that she first heard a rustling in bushes, either in front of or behind her, followed by a piercing scream. She sometimes heard the scream twice while she was in the wood and counted herself lucky that she did not hear it a third time. She said that she had heard that it was a woman who haunted Betton Wood. Before deciding to remove the trees from Betton Wood, Philippson's father went to speak to Old Mitchell's mother and other local people. He took notes of what they said to him. All the work done in converting the wood to farmland was done in the daytime. No work was done there after three o'clock in the afternoon. Contrary to what might be expected, no human remains were found in the wood. The only unusual things that were found were marks from where a hedge and a ditch had once been. Philippson says that among his father's papers there is an envelope marked "Betton Wood". He has never opened the envelope because Betton Wood no longer exists. At this point, the narrator tells Philippson about his strange experience and says that he does not think that removing Betton Wood solved the problem. The narrator and Philippson read Philippson's father's notes. Old Mitchell's mother said that she once caught a glimpse of, "something all in tatters with the two arms held out in front of it coming on very fast.' From other people's comments, it appears that Betton Wood was haunted by the ghost of Lady Ivy, a tenant of Betton Hall in the 17th century. Lady Ivy altered a boundary in Betton Wood in order to steal land from a neighboring farmer. She later went on to forge deeds for property in London and was tried for perjury and forgery before Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys.George Jeffreys (1645-1689) became Lord Chief Justice of England in 1683. He had a reputation for bias and severity and acquired the nickname "the Hanging Judge". He is a major character in M.R. James' 1911 story "Martin's Close". Lady Ivy was found not guilty and died of natural causes in 1695. She is, however, cursed for having stolen land from her neighbor and her ghost will not leave Betton until the land is returned to its rightful owner. Philippson's father wrote that he could not find out who the rightful owner of the land was. He kept a separate record of all profits that came from that part of his estate and gave the money to charity. Footnotes External links *Text of M.R. James' "A Neighbor's Landmark" on Faded Page.com. The site is hosted in Canada where the story is in the public domain. It is still under copyright in the United States. Category:Ghost Stories Category:Short Stories Category:Classic